Life is beautiful and brutal, tender and terrible — keep your heart open.

Daily Archives: April 13, 2014

Rest.noun
1. an instance or period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity. synonyms: breathing space, calm, downtime, ease, leisure, relaxation, respite, repose, sleep, time off.

2. an object that is used to support something. synonyms: base, support. brace, foundation, platform, prop, stay.

My day of rest today includes yoga teacher training. Yesterday, we did two hours of practice, both teaching each other the vinyasa’s we’d created as part of our homework and learning the fundamentals of inversions. I taught, (I was super nervous, but it wasn’t horrible), and did two headstands but wasn’t able to make it up into shoulder stand or plow, (my ab strength is not what it once was). I slept really well last night, which is something worth noting because I don’t always sleep that great, often wake without feeling rested.

I went into practice teaching remembering what my friend Aramati had told me, “teaching is a balance of preparation and letting go.” I knew that I could trust the wisdom of my body, of my previous practice. Once I got in front of the six people I was teaching however, I sort of blacked out, couldn’t remember anything, had to keep checking my notes and didn’t give cues or reference my theme, (heart opening), as much as I would have liked. One thing that happened spontaneously was I said at the beginning, “let’s take two breaths, one for you and one for me.” I love that, but hadn’t planned for it, proof that at a certain point you have to let go, allow what arises, trust yourself.

While my day of rest is going to be about practice, learning, building a supportive foundation, breathing space, softening and being gentle with myself, yours might be relaxing, leisure, sleeping — more like what Ringo has planned.

If this is more what your day looks like, may it bring you peace, may it restore you, kind and gentle reader. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow with Something Good.